Sparks beat Mercury as Griner scores 18 in return to WNBA

Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points, rookie Zia Cooke added 14 and the Los Angeles Sparks defeated Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury 94-71 on Friday night in Griner’s first WNBA game since being jailed in Russia. Griner had 18 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in 25 minutes. She has been free since December when she was part of a high-profile prisoner swap after spending months in a Russian jail.

Mystics 80, Liberty 64

Natasha Cloud and Ariel Atkins each scored 14 points and the host Washington Mystics beat the

New York Liberty to give longtime assistant Eric Thibault a win in his coaching debut. Elena Delle Donne added 13 points and Kristi Toliver scored 10 in her return to Washington after spending two seasons in Los Angeles. New York, which was labeled a super team during the offseason, shot just 34% from the field and turned it over 20 times.

Sky 77, Lynx 66

Kahleah Copper had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Alanna Smith scored 15 points and the Chicago Sky used a big second quarter to beat the host Minnesota Lynx. Chicago pulled away in the second quarter after outscoring Minnesota 22-3 for a 44-27 lead at the break. The Lynx shot just 1 for 15 from the floor in the second quarter and turned it over 11 times, leading to 13 Chicago points. Chicago held a double-digit lead for the first 18 minutes of the second half until Kayla Mcbride made it 75-66 with 1:03 left in the fourth.

Sun 70, Fever 61

Dewanna Bonner scored 19 points, Alyssa Thomas had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and the Connecticut Sun held off the host Indiana Fever. Former Indiana head coach Stephanie White got the win in her Connecticut debut.